Social Infrastructure Accessibility Standards as Determinant of Sustainable Urban Development: A GIS-Based Assessment of Schools and Green Spaces

Cities face the need to implement urban planning solutions that support sustainable development; however, this is not fully possible due to inadequate legal regulations. This development can be understood as increasing the environmental and economic resilience of urban areas and improving the quality of life for city residents. A noticeable trend in urban development plans is the implementation of the “15 min city”, “20 min city”, or similar concepts, which aim to enhance walkability by ensuring access to basic urban services and functions within walking distance. The aim of this article is to evaluate accessibility to green areas and selected educational services in cities (named in the article as MSAS–Municipal Standards for Accessibility of Social Infrastructure), and then to compare the results with proposed legal regulations in Poland that set minimum distances between social infrastructure zones and residential areas. The study will be conducted using selected urban centers: in Poland as a case study and in Belgium as verification. The use of spatial analysis methods (GIS) and a method transferability test enables the assessment of accessibility zones, as well as the identification of potential discrepancies between legal standards and actual accessibility conditions. In this context, this article addresses the question of whether accessibility standards for elementary schools and public green spaces can affect the future directions of residential development and urban spatial policy. The conclusions indicate that, although MSAS are not perfect solutions for a variety of reasons, they represent a step toward sustainable development.